City officials are seeking public input on the initial assessment of the city’s codes as part of its ongoing project to update local development ordinances.

The land development ordinance, or LDO, is an 18-month long project focused on rewriting the city’s zoning, subdivision platting, historic preservation and sign ordinances, according to the city.

Originally written in the 1960s and updated in the 1980s, the zoning ordinance includes zoning districts that separate activity and development by districts of compatibility.

The subdivision platting ordinance includes rules for laying out roads, lots and utilities, while the historic preservation ordinance includes processes and guidelines for preserving historic structures and resources. Both ordinances were originally written in the 1990s, according to the city.

The sign ordinance was written in 2006 and includes rules for commercial signage.


As part of the project, an initial assessment was conducted by Clarion Associates to evaluate the ability of current codes to implement the city’s Envision New Braunfels comprehensive plan, said Christopher Looney, planning and development services director, in a press release.

“It also takes into account community feedback we received back in January from the project’s initial survey, from which we received over 760 responses with thousands of individual comments,” Looney said. “We want to encourage continued broad participation from the community in this key project, and, although input will be accepted throughout the duration of the project, we are hoping to gather as much input as possible on the initial assessment report by May 15th.”

Residents who are interested in providing input regarding the project can visit the city’s LDO website or email [email protected].

City officials anticipate submitting the LDO project to City Council in summer 2023.